We didn’t really do a lot since my last blog post two days. Yesterday was a great free day to hang out with the group and have some free time and fun. After a late start, Simon, Ramsey, Thomas, Chris, Mitch, and I decided to go to the gym at the main Woodstock School campus. There we played 3v3 basketball and soccer for a couple of hours. Most of them stayed to work out but I left and went into town with Hannah, Anita, and Ally. We stopped for lunch at this American-style restaurant that we were recommended to go to and I had this amazing lamb and bacon burger. After we walked around the town and I bought a couple of things. A couple of hours later we went home and had our end-of-course banquet and received our course evaluations and certificates.
This morning we had to pack and had the rest of the morning to relax before traveling for the rest of the day. We left the Hanafil center at 2 with our guide Vipul and took a two-hour bus ride to the train station. That brings us to the current moment as I’m writing this blog on the trail after a surprisingly good meal of daal and paneer for dinner on the train.
We only have two days left til we fly back and they’ll be pretty packed with stuff to do. We see the Taj Mahal on Tuesday before catching our flights later that night.
What are the key lessons that you learned about yourself from the trekking experience?
There were a number of good lessons that I learned from the trek, with plenty that I’m sure I’ll become more aware of over the coming weeks and months. To begin with, I learned that I’m able to function in outdoor environments away from the comforts of normal life, and without connection to the rest of the world. I felt pretty comfortable with all that happened and felt that while I was ready for the trek to end, I certainly wasn’t in need of it to end. I loved the opportunity for me to disconnect, and have been mostly avoiding reconnecting with the world up to this point. I learned that I have to be comfortable going along with whatever happens because so many factors are out of my control in the backcountry. You have to be ready to quickly adapt to any new problem and not get overwhelmed when things don’t work out as you expected.
As far as leadership and working with the team there were a number of things. The main feedback I got from the instructors had to do with my involvement in group decision-making and voicing my opinions and thoughts during discussions. Anyone in this group would tell you that this group has a lot of strong personalities, and often I felt like it was easier and more productive to take a step back and let others have more control over decisions, while also being aware of when I need to step in and make my voice and opinion heard when it really matters. The instructors definitely agreed with me about this to an extent; they reaffirmed that I’m a good listener, while also saying that I should take more initiative and make my voice heard more.
What new perspectives did you learn about leadership from the trek? Why?
Continuing what I was discussing before, I learned through feedback and self-reflection the importance of being involved as a leader. I also learned about the necessity of peer leadership, the idea of being a leader and doing what needs to be done even when you’re not the designated leader. I got a lot of feedback about improving on being a role model; by doing what needs to be done as a way to encourage others to do the same and set a precedent. Through self-reflection I’ve become more aware of something I already knew about myself to an extent – if I don’t fully believe in what the group is doing then I struggle to put in any effort or care at all. This can take shape in a number of ways: if I don’t think the way we’re going about solving a problem is the best course of action I’ll check out and stop contributing altogether, or if I don’t think something we are doing as a group is productive or has any value then I’ll stop participating. I feel like this isn’t necessarily unique to me, but at the same time, it’s definitely something I can work on and improve that will benefit both me in leadership and the teams that I’m working with. This brings me to the third part of the blog prompt:
What are three things that you can do to continue learning to be a better leader? What are some specific ways you can apply them to your own leadership development?
The first one is what I’ve been discussing, not actively participating when I don’t like what the team is doing. I can actively combat this by being more aware of when I feel like checking out of the group and participating and being involved no matter what’s happening within the group. That can mean voicing my opinion if I disagree with the group’s opinion on how to overcome a problem, or if I’ve overruled, I can continue to try and problem-solve using the method the group decided on. I can become more active in group discussions when I don’t feel like whatever the group is doing has value. I can maybe find value in the cause by reminding myself that the group as a whole finds value in whatever it is, so if I value the group, I should also value what the group thinks
The second place I can improve is really similar to something I already talked about in my first point, but I think it’s more general so I’m giving it its own place. I could stand to make my voice more heard in the group no matter what the context is. When I feel like the group is headed in a good direction I’m comfortable letting others lead and going along with their verdicts, especially with this group of strong personalities and strong voices. In other groups maybe where the voices aren’t quite as pervasively strong, I find that I have no issue being a more dominant voice, but I was encouraged that even in situations such as this trip, to speak up and take on more leadership roles by sharing my thoughts. I can easily do this by just stating the ideas that I have. Often I debate the cost and benefit of contributing to the entire group and end up not saying things because I don’t see enough benefit. If I readjust the threshold of where I chime in I can easily combat this issue.
For my third place to learn and improve upon, I’ll further discuss something I’ve already briefly touched on: being an active role model and actively practicing peer leadership. Something the guides discussed with me was taking more initiative upon doing something if I saw that it needed to be done. This could be filling up the water drums if they were empty, cleaning up the collective group’s stuff, or waking up earlier to start making breakfast. Often I’m aware that I let others go above and beyond, while still contributing my fair share to the group. I never feel as though I’m not contributing enough, but I also recognize that I will often let tasks go for someone else to do instead of doing them myself. I can be more aware of actively doing things when I see they need to be done and take initiative as it’s not only for the good of the group but also a way to be a role model for the rest of the group members.
Overall I’m really excited to be home but also should have an awesome time these next two days enjoying the last moments in India! Miss everyone from home looking forward to seeing everyone!